Book: Satisfaction...

Satisfaction: The Art of the Female Orgasm

by Kim Cattrall and husband Mark Levinson; Warner, $24.95

About the Author...

The 46-year-old actress writes from the public's perception that she must have fabulous sex like her character, Samantha, in HBO's Sex and the City. She didn't until she met her husband, a jazz musician, with whom she now makes beautiful music. She learned from him about "communication, sexuality and honesty." One purpose of the book, she writes, "is to debunk the myth that attractive women with sexy images have fabulous sex lives." Take-home message: a detailed, tastefully and explicitly illustrated book can help demystify the paths to sexual satisfaction.

A practical guide, from one couple who seems to have done their homework.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com:
Pleasing color sketches and simple diagrams adorn the pages of Satisfaction: The Art of the Female Orgasm by famed Sex and the City actor Kim Cattrall and her husband, jazz musician Mark Levinson. The fact that Cattrall's character on the show, Samantha Jones, is a sexual giantess is likely to bump up sales a notch for this attractive, children's-size book, but nevertheless it's a very worthwhile read.

Simple concepts--open communication, trust, love, and a consistent interest i in pleasing one another--are the ingredients for an enriching and fulfilling sex life that can bring two people ever closer, according to the text. The facts speak for themselves: when pressed, women will confess in droves that they are sexually frustrated. It's tricky to communicate one's carnal desires to one's lover, yet both parties must be open to this type of ongoing discussion for the formula to work.

Meanwhile, a little education for men can go a long way. The concepts are basic--anyone who isn't a virgin probably knows them. But the rub lies in the consistency, the selflessness, and the patience required of the man. Cattrall and Levinson ask their male readers how they'd feel if they experienced some physical pleasure during lovemaking but never got to climax; they would likely get frustrated after a while. So an abiding evotion to pleasing the woman is a basic assumption throughout, and one that isn't commonly pointed out in such an open way elsewhere. Some readers may think Cattrall and Levinson's approach offers nothing new or exciting, but this honest reminder of what it takes to be a sensitive and satisfying lover is just what the doctor ordered.--Teri Kieffer

USA Today Gives Kim Two Thumbs Up:

Cattrall enthralls in 'Satisfaction'

By Donna Freydkin, Special for USA TODAY

NEW YORK - Kim Cattrall has penned a how-to manual that would make Samantha Jones proud. Jones is the bawdy, bed-hopping PR exec Cattrall plays on HBO's hit comedy series, Sex and the City. And Cattrall's book - out this week - is called Satisfaction: The Art of the Female Orgasm (Warner Books, $24.95).

The ultra-explicit, illustrated book explains how men can make women happy between the sheets.

Satisfaction, which comes shrink-wrapped, is shocking, but not for obvious reasons. Cattrall, who's sooo convincing as a steely sex kitten, experienced years of unsatisfying sex.

"I come from a history of women not knowing themselves, not being fulfilled sexually, like my mother," says Cattrall, wiped out from a day's worth of interviews and sipping juice for a quick burst of sugary energy.

"I wanted to be part of breaking that cycle. I wanted to reach out to women and say, 'No one would think that because of the roles I've played, I would have a history like that, but I had it and I don't have it anymore and there's a solution.' "

According to Cattrall and husband Mark Levinson, who co-wrote the book, the key is avid experimentation, open communication and, yes, Viagra (which the couple has tried). Satisfaction is a witty and accessible manual that Samantha - who's had her share of second-rate sexcapades - might just pick up herself.

"I am not Samantha. Being so closely connected with a character for five years is wonderful and gratifying, but it's not me or who I am," says Cattrall, 46. "Unlike her, I am sexually fulfilled."

To hear Cattrall tell it, that's all thanks to her third husband, audio equipment executive Levinson, whom she met and married in 1998. She's wary of revealing too many intimate secrets, but Cattrall declares that Levinson turned her unfulfilling sex life around simply by listening and asking the right questions.

Cattrall says she first decided to pen a sex book after being approached to write the typically glossy celebrity biography. Turned off by standard-issue tearjerker celeb fare, Cattrall instead opted to work on a book that, in Levinson's words, Samantha herself could have written.

Cattrall and Levinson went through seven or eight publishers who blushed at the book's frank content before signing with Warner Books. But don't expect Satisfaction to provide a sneak peek into Cattrall and Levinson's bedroom. "This book is not about Kim and Mark," insists the actress.

And unlike Samantha Jones, who sees men as Big Macs - devoured for fun and dumped at will - Cattrall says she's found satisfaction on all fronts. With her sex book in stores and extra episodes of Sex and the City now airing (gasp! Samantha may embrace monogamy with her slick boss, Richard!), Cattrallis alsoplaying sex-kitten-in-training Britney Spears' movie mother in Crossroads, which opened Feb. 15.

http://usatoday.com/life/enter/books/2002/2002-01-24-cattrall.htm

EDITORIAL NOTE: Don't miss the Dateline NBC interview with Kim Cattrall about this new book!

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